tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post4056469018179202228..comments2015-08-01T20:00:30.377-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: “Persons Suspected of Being Inimical”J. L. Bellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-54589091960126887592010-08-31T12:24:46.439-05:002010-08-31T12:24:46.439-05:00Yes, I think fear and anger were working together....Yes, I think fear and anger were working together. The timing of this incident is hazy, so it’s hard to say how it coincides with the Lexington alarm, the massing of the New England army, and other events. In other words, it’s hard to say what these women knew (or feared) without knowing when they knew it.<br /><br />Fischer’s examples of widespread fear seem to focus on towns along the British march and withdrawal on 18-19 April, which makes sense. Coastal towns also feared expeditions or bombardment. But Groton and Pepperell seem a long way from the front.<br /><br />I believe the rumor that “prisoners were being scalped” spread among the British troops after some of them saw one of the casualties at the North Bridge.J. L. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-67238133988953802332010-08-31T12:03:06.456-05:002010-08-31T12:03:06.456-05:00Going along with &quot;rage militaire&quot; though...Going along with &quot;rage militaire&quot; though, is &quot;la Grande Peur&quot; -- the Great Fear. Once we&#39;ve properly trimmed away the romantic elaborations of the story, it remains to try to get into the minds of this group of women that week, something that&#39;s not so easy to do from the comfortable present.<br /><br />If these events took place around April 21st, what did the world look like to them at that moment? The town had almost completely emptied out of adult men. The people left behind (including lots and lots of children) had probably heard rumors that there had been a massacre at Lexington, all of Concord had been burned, that prisoners were being scalped, and probably that children were being spitted on bayonets. Whether these things were true or not doesn&#39;t matter; the fear in such circumstances would be so great that the &quot;rational&quot; response would be to believe that they are true and to act accordingly. &quot;Guard the bridge&quot; and &quot;be suspicious of everyone&quot; becomes an automatic reaction.<br /><br />I don&#39;t have Fischer&#39;s &quot;Paul Revere&#39;s Ride&quot; at hand, but I seem to recall him recounting the wave of fear that swept through the countryside that April. (Not a &quot;rage&quot; as in &quot;it&#39;s all the rage,&quot; but a fear as in &quot;terrified for our lives.&quot;) People barricaded themselves into their houses with pitchforks, fled into the woods, etc., and all of this miles form any actual fighting.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937384579138400443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-65746399538541182692010-08-31T08:58:26.204-05:002010-08-31T08:58:26.204-05:00http://www.pepperellcoveredbridge.org/?page_id=22
...http://www.pepperellcoveredbridge.org/?page_id=22<br /><br />&quot;Soon after nightfall, horses were heard approaching. Prudence ordered a halt. The horsemen turned to run, but the women seized their horses. One rider drew his revolver and was about to use it...&quot;<br /><br />Ummm....ahhh...never mind. This whole subject is sacrosanct. You&#39;re a braver man than I, JL.RFullernoreply@blogger.com